Listen Up! Pay Attention!
There is something to be said for paying attention. Ralph Nichols has been quoted as saying, “The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.”
How many times are you guilty of not paying attention? Do you drive with your cell phone to your ear? Do you drift into daydreaming when you’re at a meeting? Or worse, do you selectively listen to those things you think only apply to you?
Paying attention and listening to things as related to Army life can save you some trouble in the long run. Most of us are quick to complain that “The Army never paid attention when we…” or “My FRG leader never listened when I…” but we fail to see the situation vice versa.
I challenge you this week to open up your ears, eyes, and mind, and pay attention.
Listen to what your spouse, your leaders, your children, and your friends are saying.
Listen with your ears, yes. Listen more with your eyes and your mind.
See what they are going through.
Put yourself in their shoes.
Pay attention to what is going on around you.
Pay attention to their reaction to what you say or do and how it affects the overall mood of the relationship.
Paying attention and listening with more than an ear full of cell phone and a mind full of daydreams will allow you to see that others are just like you. Aching for the basic human need of understanding and being heard.
